Dak Da Man vulnerable at short price in Will Rogers feature
Dak Da Man has more interest in just being one of the guys than stepping up as the man. Trainer Kari Craddock tried Dak Da Man in blinkers his most recent start and got more of the same decidedly herd-oriented race behavior, and as the 8-5 favorite in featured race 9 Wednesday at Will Rogers Downs, Dak Da Man is a horse to oppose at a short price.
Make no mistake, Dak Da Man is a useful horse. Bred and owned by Cisper Racing, he’s a 4-year-old by Mucho Macho Man out of Mountain Rose, by Distorted Humor, and a 13-start career has produced more than $75,000 in earnings. But Dak Da Man looked like he could do more. His connections thought enough of him to try an Oklahoma-bred stakes after a debut second-place finish, and Dak Da Man, in his third career start, beat open maiden special weight rivals at Sam Houston by more than seven lengths. His second and most recent win came last October, when he rallied over a sloppy Remington racing surface and into a quick pace to tally in an Oklahoma-bred first-level allowance.
Dak Da Man has made little progress since. He’s already gotten two tries this Will Rogers meet in races like Wednesday’s, an Oklahoma-bred first-level route allowance, and Dak Da Man has succeeded in burning bettors money. On March 24, he finished fourth at odds of 4-5, and on April 14 he was second at 7-5. In both starts – the second with blinkers added – Dak Da Man ran the same kind of race, disinterested during the early and middle portions before running late to contend. Maybe he’s found a spot soft enough to accidentally break through the level Wednesday, but maybe he hasn’t.
Valentine Guy is the pick to win this race. Valentine Guy finished third, a half-length behind Dak Da Man, on April 14 and has much more latitude to improve. Valentine Guy has started only four times and was making his two-turn debut last time, and if he got any measure of fitness from that recent start, he can turn the tables on Dak Da Man and win at a fair price.